Compositions comprising poly(arylene ether)s and polyolefins are known in the art, and compositions comprising specific impact modifiers and compatibilizing agents have been described.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,416 to Del Giudice et al. generally describes compositions comprising (a) a polyphenylene ether, (b) a thermoplastic polymer incompatible with the PPF, and (c) a polymeric compatibility-promoting agent comprising one or more blocks of vinylaromatic monomer units compatible with the polyphenylene ether (a) and one or more blocks of monomeric units of the same nature as the thermoplastic polymer (b) or compatible with that polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,559 to Yamauchi et al. generally describes a composition comprising (a) a polyphenylene ether having a low degree of polymerization, with or without a styrene resin, (b) a polyolefin, and (c) a styrene compound/conjugated diene block copolymer or a hydrogenation product thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,997 to Shibuya et al. generally describes a composition comprising (a) a polyolefin resin, (b) a polyphenylene ether resin, and (c) a hydrogenated block copolymer of an alkenyl aromatic compound and a conjugated diene which contains 45-80 weight percent of a repeating unit derived from the alkenyl aromatic compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,508 to Shiraki et al. generally describes a composition comprising (a) 1-99 parts by weight of a specific hydrogenated block copolymer having at least one polymer block composed mainly of a vinyl aromatic compound and at least one polymer block composed mainly of a conjugated diene compound, and (b) 99-1 parts by weight of at least one thermoplastic substance selected from the group consisting of tackifier resins, thermoplastic resins, and bituminous materials. Thermoplastic resins include polyethylenes, polypropylenes, and polyphenylene ethers, among many others.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,912 to Furuta et al. generally describes a composition comprising (a) a polyphenylene ether, (b) a styrene-modified propylene polymer or a composition containing a styrene-modified propylene polymer and polypropylene, and (c) at least two rubbery substances, one being compatible with (a) and the other incompatible with (a).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,187 to Maruyama et al. generally describes a composition comprising specific amounts of (a) a polyolefin, (b) a polyphenylene ether, (c) a partially hydrogenated alkenyl aromatic compound-isoprene block copolymer, and (d) an alkenyl aromatic compound-conjugated diene block copolymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,287 to Tanaka et al. generally describes a composition comprising (a) a polyphenylene ether, (b) a crystalline polyolefin resin, and (c) a graft copolymer where the backbone is a copolymer of (i) ethylene or at least one C3-C12 alpha-olefin, and (ii) at least one chain nonconjugated diene.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,049 to Chino et al. generally describes a composition comprising specific amounts of (a) a component composed of syndiotactic polystyrene and a polyolefin, (b) a block or graft styrene-olefin copolymer having a styrene content of 40 to 85% by weight, and (c) a polyphenylene ether.
European Patent Application No. 412,787 A2 to Furuta et al. generally describes compositions comprising (a) a polyphenylene ether, (b) a propylene polymer modified by grafting with a styrene-based monomer alone or in combination with another copolymerizable monomer, with or without an unmodified propylene polymer, and (c) a rubbery substance having chain A miscible with all or part of (a) and chain B miscible with all or part of (b).
The commercial value of the above described compositions has been limited by deficiencies in the balance of properties such as stiffness, impact strength, and heat resistance, as well as the inconsistency of various properties from batch to batch and from molded sample to molded sample within the same batch. There remains a need for poly(arylene ether)-polyolefin compositions having improved property balances. In particular, there remains a need for poly(arylene ether)-polypropylene compositions exhibiting an improved balance of stiffness, impact strength, and heat resistance. There also remains a need for poly(arylene ether)-polypropylene compositions exhibiting reduced batch-to-batch and sample-to-sample variability in key properties, including stiffness and impact strength.